Disclaimer: I own nothing from The Lord of the Rings at all.
Ch18 Gollum
Bob and Ned were still sat in their clearing. Bob's stitching had hurt a lot more than Ned had expected and although the Hobbits wanted to cover some more ground whilst it was still light Ned had insisted that she rested. This had just annoyed Sam. He wanted to get moving as soon as possible but then he remembered what Bob had said to him and didn't say anything.
Ned was still sleeping; she seemed to be very tired since she had been stabbed although this was hardly surprising. Bob checked on her every now and then but she just got annoyed when she woke her up.
She hadn't ever realised that being stabbed would be quite so painful and now she felt really sorry for anyone that had been through it. She wondered if Fred was in that kind of pain or whether it was worse for her. Ned felt she shudder at this, she had tried to block the thought of Fred out of her mind as she didn't want to show Bob that there was probably no chance of saving her.
Fred had been their main priority at first but now there were so many other things that were happening and for a while Ned had almost forgotten about their friend. Ned couldn't believe that she had forgotten about their friend. What with the Wraiths and everything else, including the mad man in the hut, Fred had been pushed out of their minds slightly.
It was only really Bob that had remembered their aim to save Fred. She hadn't mentioned it for a while but she forever felt the presence of Fred even though they were worlds apart.
Over the past few hours Bob hadn't felt that original fear but the visions and feelings had been far calmer and there wasn't as much panic in what she felt. For this she was glad as she was well aware that Fred needed help even though the fear was fading slowly.
Bob had no idea what that meant anyway. It could mean that Fred was already dead and there was no panic. It could mean that she was so weak that she couldn't keep up the psychic link with her friend any longer. She wished she didn't have to think the worst and that Fred was really okay. But the thought that something terrible had happened to her was still in Bob's mind.
Frodo and Sam were eager to get going. They knew from experience that it was risky to stay in one place for too long when Wraiths were about. Frodo sympathised with Ned. He knew what it felt like to be stabbed and he knew that all you wanted to do was rest. He had been forced to keep moving despite what happened at Weathertop and he knew why Ned wanted to wait. He also knew that it was unsafe in the wild with Wraiths following you.
Sam was getting increasingly impatient and didn't like to wait around, he too was aware that they were in danger and he didn't like the thought of being prime targets for Wraiths. He wondered if he should mention this to Bob, she seemed to understand him more than anyone else, apart from Frodo of course.
Last time he had discussed it with her she had told him to stop being impatient and he remembered what she had said about her friends and Frodo being her main priorities. Sam wanted to help Frodo but he didn't think it would help just waiting around, however, he also knew that it was dangerous out in the wild on his own so there was no way he could leave without them. He just had to think of what happened to their friend and it changed his mind. He didn't want to be tortured in Isengard.
He wondered if Frodo wanted to leave the two girls behind as well, surely he didn't care about this Fred, that was the only reason the other two were taking so long. They were worrying about their friend. It didn't help that Bob kept seeing those things, they slowed them down and Sam didn't like it.
Looking back on their journey Sam couldn't see that they were getting anywhere. They were just walking aimlessly through a forest being pursued by Wraiths that wanted to kidnap them all and kill Frodo and take the Ring. It was pointless to be in the Forest and if it hadn't been for the three girls they wouldn't be there in the first place. He was getting fed up of just walking without knowing where they were going and what they were aiming for.
It had been the same in Middle Earth, he never knew what was going on. He didn't like being left out and he was beginning to think that the two girls were doing it on purpose. They could be in league with the Dark Lord. Sam knew that he couldn't trust anyone, not even Frodo. He hated thinking like that but he couldn't help it and he wasn't going to apologise for it.
He wished he could trust someone, especially Frodo who was his travelling companion as well as his best friend. He had been with him from the beginning and he felt that he should be loyal to him despite his thoughts about his relationship with these new people. He did want to be back with the Fellowship where at least he would know where he was going and they would have a good guide.
These people didn't know what they were doing. Fred had been taken by a Wraith after getting frightened by a pony. Bob was having terrible visions of Fred and what was happening in Orthanc, she also had a squirrel which she had named Percy. And finally there was Ned, who appeared to be clinically insane and lead them to a hut where a mad murderer lived.
So far his experiences with these people hadn't been good and he had a feeling that they weren't going to get much better over the next few days. The strange thing was that Frodo trusted them completely which didn't make any sense seeing as he was a fairly intelligent Hobbit. More so than Sam.
He wondered if they would ever get to where they were going if they even knew where that was. Sam wished he was back in Middle Earth and not in this place called The New Forest with people that had absolutely no idea what they were doing. The only really sensible one of the group was Bob who seemed far more concerned about Fred and Ned than she did about the Hobbits and this worried Sam.
He had the strongest feeling that they wouldn't get out this alive and he really wished that he had stayed in Rivendell when Lord Elrond had asked him. He knew that he would have to stick to his promise to stay with Frodo no matter what. He was sure that they would be okay when they left Rivendell. He had always thought that they would have a long time to wait before they ran into too much danger. It had come a little too quickly for Sam and now he was regretting thinking that it would be okay for some time.
Sam knew that Frodo trusted these people and he had no choice but to go along with what he wanted. It was his Master and whatever he thought was right Sam would follow even though he didn't agree with it.
He noticed that Frodo was a little too concerned about Ned, he had been spending a lot of time looking over her and checking his wound. Sam understood that Frodo had been through the same thing at Weathertop and he knew that Frodo had grown close to their companions but he also knew that there was a lot of bad things going on and Sam didn't want to have to help Frodo get over a friendship that would be over soon. He was convinced that they would eventually be separated and have to say goodbye to each other.
Sam thought about what might happen and looking at their track record he was convinced that the two humans would definitely be killed in the next few days. He knew that Frodo would be angry with him if he heard that. Sam was aware that Frodo had grown a little too close to them in the past few days.
"Sam." Frodo called breaking his thoughts.
"Yes, Mister Frodo."
"Ned needs a new bandage on this wound. There should be one in the bag. Can you go and get it? And tell Bob to hurry up and get that hot water."
Sam nodded, angry that Frodo was paying so much attention to Ned and ordering him about for no particular reason. It annoyed him that Frodo thought more of Ned than of him.
He wandered slowly over to where the baggage had been put. He searched around in the bag and tried to find a bandage. When he had found one he went towards the fire that had been built earlier to inquire about the hot water. When he got there Bob was nowhere in sight. The water was boiling and the fire was still going but Bob was nowhere. Sam couldn't understand. She seemed to be the sensible one and wouldn't just wander off for no reason.
Sam decided that something bad must have happened to her. He called out her name hoping to hear some response. There was nothing.
He called again but this time someone grabbed him from behind and put their hand over his mouth. He struggled for a moment but soon stopped when the person identified herself as Bob. She let go of him and he remained silent.
"There's something out there. Can you hear it?" She whispered.
Sam nodded when he heard a slight rustling in the bushes by the side of the fire. He looked hard at them but saw nothing. He knew it couldn't be a Wraith because there was no way one could hide in the bushes. There was nothing else he could think of that would be in this place and want to hide from them.
"Sam." Bob whispered, "Have you seen anything unusual? There hasn't been anything out of the ordinary has there?"
"No." Came the simple reply.
The rustling stopped and everything seemed silent again. Frodo came up behind them and made them jump wondering what they were doing. He knew that these people were slightly strange but for Sam to join in it must have been something serious.
"What's going on?" He asked loudly.
Sam and Bob told him to be quiet and went back to listening for any sign of their follower.
"There's something out there watching us, Mister Frodo." Sam said quietly.
"What?" Frodo asked equally quietly.
Sam shrugged and went back to looking around the camp.
Bob snapped out of listening for something that obviously wasn't there anymore. She was certain that whatever it was wasn't going to show itself to them and had probably disappeared after it thought it had been spotted. Bob had an idea what it might be, she knew the story of The Lord of the Rings and she knew who followed them throughout the book without being noticed.
Frodo went over to the bushes and looked around just to make sure there was nothing there. Sam, of course, followed. He didn't want Frodo to get into trouble. He wanted to know what was out there he certainly didn't like not knowing.
"Perhaps we should venture into the Forest a little. Just to check there's nothing there. I mean we don't want anything jumping on us in the night do we?" Sam asked.
"No. There's no point. Whatever it was knew we were watching it and has run away by now. Besides there's nothing we can do about it, we have no weapons or anything. We don't want to get lost in the woods just before nightfall anyway." Bob replied.
"I agree. It could be dangerous what with those Wraiths following us as well, it's too dangerous." Frodo said, backing Bob up.
Sam nodded, he was pleased that they had said no. He didn't want to go wandering about the woods at night either. He didn't have a good sense of direction and he didn't want to get lost or get caught by a Wraith.
Frodo picked up the water from the fire and walked back towards the clearing where they had left Ned. When he reached where he'd left her he saw nothing but the blanket that had covered her. She was out of sight. He panicked for a second and quickly scanned the area hoping that she had just gone for a walk. This didn't seen very likely but he didn't like to think that something bad had happened to her.
He shouted for the others and they came running. As they reached Frodo they heard a loud scream from the Forest. It wasn't Ned's though. It was someone else but neither three could recognise it.
There was a rustling from the trees and Ned appeared dragging something behind her. It was a person, or something that vaguely resembled a person. They couldn't see exactly what it was but it did remind Bob of a scene from Independence Day. She could have laughed if she hadn't have been so concerned about what was being dragged along.
Ned strolled up to them as if nothing had happened.
"What is that?" Asked Bob sharply.
"Oh. I heard something out in the Forest and it woke me up. You guys were out of sight and I thought I would go and investigate. I found something that you might be interested in." She smiled.
"Wait a minute. You went into the Forest on your own without telling us? After what happened to Fred as well." Bob asked in disbelief.
"Like I said you were over by the fire. You looked like you were doing something important, I didn't want to disturb you. I felt a little better so I decided to go and investigate. I'm fine. Nothing happened."
At this she turned and walked to the body that was lying on the floor. Bob shook her head in disbelief. Sometimes she was convinced that Ned had no idea of what danger was. There were Wraiths all around them and she wanted to go into the Forest and investigate.
Despite her disbelief and anger she followed Ned towards the thing lying on the floor, she was very curious about what was following them.
She couldn't believe what she was seeing. There lying at her feet was Gollum. She had thought that it was him that was following them but she didn't think they anyone would be able to catch them. The two Hobbits looked equally surprised. Frodo had sort of expected Gollum to be there somewhere but he didn't think he was so close.
"Where did you find him?" Frodo asked Ned.
"Just in the woods. He was stalking you. He tried to run away but I managed to catch him and I thought I'd bring him back here. I though you'd be interested in knowing that he was following us."
"Did you have to knock him out?"
"Well, no but you know how much he struggles when you try and catch him. It was a shame I didn't have any Elf-rope he would have loved that." She smiled.
Bob nodded and laughed, remembering the movie. Frodo and Sam didn't understand. They hadn't met Gollum yet and they couldn't imagine why he was following them.
"I suggest we tie him up with something. You know how hard he can be to control."
Bob nodded and Frodo looked on not really understanding what was going on. He knew of Gollum but had never actually properly seen him, he remembered Gandalf telling him of the creature but he didn't go into detail and seeing the pitiful creature amazed Frodo. It was hard to believe that something could become so corrupted by something as small as a Ring.
Bob went to get some rope, she knew exactly what happened in The Two Towers and didn't want the same thing to happen again. Ned stared at the creature feeling a sudden wave of pity for him. She felt like she could relate to him, she knew what it was like for everyone to have an opinion of you and although she knew that Gollum was beyond saving she wished she could do something to help him.
Bob soon came back with the rope and she quickly tied Gollum up and tied the other end of the rope to a near-by tree. She didn't want to take any chances, she knew that Gollum was sly and clever in his own way. The last thing they needed was a fight with him. They had caught him once and they didn't want to lose him now.
**
A few hours passed before Gollum woke up, it was just beginning to get dark and they had begun cooking their meal. Bob figured that the smell must have woken him and she couldn't blame him. Over the past few days they hadn't had much time to stop and eat a proper meal. This was the first time in a while that they had had cooked food and they were pleased for the chance.
Gollum made a lot of fuss, he begged them to release him and Frodo, who felt bad for the creature, wanted to at least loosen the rope. Bob and Ned insisted that he stay tied up, they knew what he was capable of. Frodo took some food over him, he understood why Gollum felt drawn to the Ring and he felt sorry for Gollum who had been so corrupted by the thing that he was now carrying. Frodo thought that if he could help Gollum then maybe there would be chance for his quest.
He approached Gollum slowly; he treated him more like an animal than a being. He felt uneasy around him despite his pity. Frodo reached out his hand towards Gollum.
"It's okay. It's food." Frodo pushed the food towards him, reluctant to get any closer.
Gollum instantly snatched it from the Hobbit's and began to eat it but he soon spat it out on the floor and made a high-pitched squealing noise. Frodo could have sworn he had heard Gollum say "fish". He leaned forward to get closer to Gollum.
Just as he was about to get within Gollum's reach Ned approached them and interrupted them.
"I wouldn't get too close if I were you. He's untrustworthy. He'll kill you if it means getting his hands on the Ring."
Frodo pulled away from Gollum and the creature retreated away at being rejected.
"How do you know so much about him? Gandalf didn't tell me a whole lot about him and he certainly doesn't live in your world."
"Lets just say that I know more about him than you can imagine. He's dangerous and he knows it."
"Do you really think he'd steal the Ring?" Frodo questioned.
Ned knew that it was risky to tell Frodo too much about Gollum, he would find a lot out in the future. She figured that as long as she was careful about what she said it would be alright.
"He only wants the Ring. It's what he's been searching for all this time. He was imprisoned in a dungeon and it didn't stop him and he knows that you have the Ring and he wants what you now have. The only thing he cares about is the Ring. It's what he's always wanted. It's his obsession and he won't give up just because you're in a different place. He'd die for the Ring. And he'd also kill for it."
Frodo looked suspiciously at Gollum. He had never thought about Gollum being willing to kill for the Ring. He wondered if he would ever become that obsessed with it. He felt it all the time. He didn't know how he'd feel if he had to give it up.
"I'll see you later. I'm going to bed." Frodo said sharply. He didn't want anyone knowing his thoughts. Although he had a feeling that Ned knew more about him that she let on.
Ned kept looking at Gollum for some time, she had often imagined what he would look like and she was a little surprised that he was so insane. She felt sorry for Frodo. She was well aware of what he was thinking and she knew how hard it was to know what would eventually happen to him.
"Are you okay?" Bob approached.
"Yeah. Frodo was asking about Gollum." She replied.
"What did you tell him?"
"Not much."
"Not much?" Bob asked, suddenly worried.
"I just told him that he couldn't be trusted and that Gollum would kill him if he got the chance."
Bob cast a worried look.
"Don't panic. I didn't tell him anything about his future or anything like that. I just didn't want him dying or anything." Said Ned.
"Good. You know that it would be dangerous to change anything, even telling Frodo something that he shouldn't know yet could change everything in their world. Besides Frodo still has a long way to go yet and Gollum shouldn't come into it yet."
"I know. Don't worry, I won't tell him anything he shouldn't know. Frodo still has a long way to go and I wouldn't interfere with that. We have no way of knowing what damage it might cause to both their world and our film." She laughed.
Bob nodded and looked up at Ned with a surprised look on her face.
"What?" Said Ned defensively.
"Nothing. For a second there you sounded just like Fred." Bob smiled.
That smile soon faded when she remembered what happened.
"Don't worry. We're going to find her. You know Fred, she wouldn't give up. Especially seeing as The Return of the King is coming out soon."
Bob nodded knowing that Ned was right.
Ch18 Gollum
Bob and Ned were still sat in their clearing. Bob's stitching had hurt a lot more than Ned had expected and although the Hobbits wanted to cover some more ground whilst it was still light Ned had insisted that she rested. This had just annoyed Sam. He wanted to get moving as soon as possible but then he remembered what Bob had said to him and didn't say anything.
Ned was still sleeping; she seemed to be very tired since she had been stabbed although this was hardly surprising. Bob checked on her every now and then but she just got annoyed when she woke her up.
She hadn't ever realised that being stabbed would be quite so painful and now she felt really sorry for anyone that had been through it. She wondered if Fred was in that kind of pain or whether it was worse for her. Ned felt she shudder at this, she had tried to block the thought of Fred out of her mind as she didn't want to show Bob that there was probably no chance of saving her.
Fred had been their main priority at first but now there were so many other things that were happening and for a while Ned had almost forgotten about their friend. Ned couldn't believe that she had forgotten about their friend. What with the Wraiths and everything else, including the mad man in the hut, Fred had been pushed out of their minds slightly.
It was only really Bob that had remembered their aim to save Fred. She hadn't mentioned it for a while but she forever felt the presence of Fred even though they were worlds apart.
Over the past few hours Bob hadn't felt that original fear but the visions and feelings had been far calmer and there wasn't as much panic in what she felt. For this she was glad as she was well aware that Fred needed help even though the fear was fading slowly.
Bob had no idea what that meant anyway. It could mean that Fred was already dead and there was no panic. It could mean that she was so weak that she couldn't keep up the psychic link with her friend any longer. She wished she didn't have to think the worst and that Fred was really okay. But the thought that something terrible had happened to her was still in Bob's mind.
Frodo and Sam were eager to get going. They knew from experience that it was risky to stay in one place for too long when Wraiths were about. Frodo sympathised with Ned. He knew what it felt like to be stabbed and he knew that all you wanted to do was rest. He had been forced to keep moving despite what happened at Weathertop and he knew why Ned wanted to wait. He also knew that it was unsafe in the wild with Wraiths following you.
Sam was getting increasingly impatient and didn't like to wait around, he too was aware that they were in danger and he didn't like the thought of being prime targets for Wraiths. He wondered if he should mention this to Bob, she seemed to understand him more than anyone else, apart from Frodo of course.
Last time he had discussed it with her she had told him to stop being impatient and he remembered what she had said about her friends and Frodo being her main priorities. Sam wanted to help Frodo but he didn't think it would help just waiting around, however, he also knew that it was dangerous out in the wild on his own so there was no way he could leave without them. He just had to think of what happened to their friend and it changed his mind. He didn't want to be tortured in Isengard.
He wondered if Frodo wanted to leave the two girls behind as well, surely he didn't care about this Fred, that was the only reason the other two were taking so long. They were worrying about their friend. It didn't help that Bob kept seeing those things, they slowed them down and Sam didn't like it.
Looking back on their journey Sam couldn't see that they were getting anywhere. They were just walking aimlessly through a forest being pursued by Wraiths that wanted to kidnap them all and kill Frodo and take the Ring. It was pointless to be in the Forest and if it hadn't been for the three girls they wouldn't be there in the first place. He was getting fed up of just walking without knowing where they were going and what they were aiming for.
It had been the same in Middle Earth, he never knew what was going on. He didn't like being left out and he was beginning to think that the two girls were doing it on purpose. They could be in league with the Dark Lord. Sam knew that he couldn't trust anyone, not even Frodo. He hated thinking like that but he couldn't help it and he wasn't going to apologise for it.
He wished he could trust someone, especially Frodo who was his travelling companion as well as his best friend. He had been with him from the beginning and he felt that he should be loyal to him despite his thoughts about his relationship with these new people. He did want to be back with the Fellowship where at least he would know where he was going and they would have a good guide.
These people didn't know what they were doing. Fred had been taken by a Wraith after getting frightened by a pony. Bob was having terrible visions of Fred and what was happening in Orthanc, she also had a squirrel which she had named Percy. And finally there was Ned, who appeared to be clinically insane and lead them to a hut where a mad murderer lived.
So far his experiences with these people hadn't been good and he had a feeling that they weren't going to get much better over the next few days. The strange thing was that Frodo trusted them completely which didn't make any sense seeing as he was a fairly intelligent Hobbit. More so than Sam.
He wondered if they would ever get to where they were going if they even knew where that was. Sam wished he was back in Middle Earth and not in this place called The New Forest with people that had absolutely no idea what they were doing. The only really sensible one of the group was Bob who seemed far more concerned about Fred and Ned than she did about the Hobbits and this worried Sam.
He had the strongest feeling that they wouldn't get out this alive and he really wished that he had stayed in Rivendell when Lord Elrond had asked him. He knew that he would have to stick to his promise to stay with Frodo no matter what. He was sure that they would be okay when they left Rivendell. He had always thought that they would have a long time to wait before they ran into too much danger. It had come a little too quickly for Sam and now he was regretting thinking that it would be okay for some time.
Sam knew that Frodo trusted these people and he had no choice but to go along with what he wanted. It was his Master and whatever he thought was right Sam would follow even though he didn't agree with it.
He noticed that Frodo was a little too concerned about Ned, he had been spending a lot of time looking over her and checking his wound. Sam understood that Frodo had been through the same thing at Weathertop and he knew that Frodo had grown close to their companions but he also knew that there was a lot of bad things going on and Sam didn't want to have to help Frodo get over a friendship that would be over soon. He was convinced that they would eventually be separated and have to say goodbye to each other.
Sam thought about what might happen and looking at their track record he was convinced that the two humans would definitely be killed in the next few days. He knew that Frodo would be angry with him if he heard that. Sam was aware that Frodo had grown a little too close to them in the past few days.
"Sam." Frodo called breaking his thoughts.
"Yes, Mister Frodo."
"Ned needs a new bandage on this wound. There should be one in the bag. Can you go and get it? And tell Bob to hurry up and get that hot water."
Sam nodded, angry that Frodo was paying so much attention to Ned and ordering him about for no particular reason. It annoyed him that Frodo thought more of Ned than of him.
He wandered slowly over to where the baggage had been put. He searched around in the bag and tried to find a bandage. When he had found one he went towards the fire that had been built earlier to inquire about the hot water. When he got there Bob was nowhere in sight. The water was boiling and the fire was still going but Bob was nowhere. Sam couldn't understand. She seemed to be the sensible one and wouldn't just wander off for no reason.
Sam decided that something bad must have happened to her. He called out her name hoping to hear some response. There was nothing.
He called again but this time someone grabbed him from behind and put their hand over his mouth. He struggled for a moment but soon stopped when the person identified herself as Bob. She let go of him and he remained silent.
"There's something out there. Can you hear it?" She whispered.
Sam nodded when he heard a slight rustling in the bushes by the side of the fire. He looked hard at them but saw nothing. He knew it couldn't be a Wraith because there was no way one could hide in the bushes. There was nothing else he could think of that would be in this place and want to hide from them.
"Sam." Bob whispered, "Have you seen anything unusual? There hasn't been anything out of the ordinary has there?"
"No." Came the simple reply.
The rustling stopped and everything seemed silent again. Frodo came up behind them and made them jump wondering what they were doing. He knew that these people were slightly strange but for Sam to join in it must have been something serious.
"What's going on?" He asked loudly.
Sam and Bob told him to be quiet and went back to listening for any sign of their follower.
"There's something out there watching us, Mister Frodo." Sam said quietly.
"What?" Frodo asked equally quietly.
Sam shrugged and went back to looking around the camp.
Bob snapped out of listening for something that obviously wasn't there anymore. She was certain that whatever it was wasn't going to show itself to them and had probably disappeared after it thought it had been spotted. Bob had an idea what it might be, she knew the story of The Lord of the Rings and she knew who followed them throughout the book without being noticed.
Frodo went over to the bushes and looked around just to make sure there was nothing there. Sam, of course, followed. He didn't want Frodo to get into trouble. He wanted to know what was out there he certainly didn't like not knowing.
"Perhaps we should venture into the Forest a little. Just to check there's nothing there. I mean we don't want anything jumping on us in the night do we?" Sam asked.
"No. There's no point. Whatever it was knew we were watching it and has run away by now. Besides there's nothing we can do about it, we have no weapons or anything. We don't want to get lost in the woods just before nightfall anyway." Bob replied.
"I agree. It could be dangerous what with those Wraiths following us as well, it's too dangerous." Frodo said, backing Bob up.
Sam nodded, he was pleased that they had said no. He didn't want to go wandering about the woods at night either. He didn't have a good sense of direction and he didn't want to get lost or get caught by a Wraith.
Frodo picked up the water from the fire and walked back towards the clearing where they had left Ned. When he reached where he'd left her he saw nothing but the blanket that had covered her. She was out of sight. He panicked for a second and quickly scanned the area hoping that she had just gone for a walk. This didn't seen very likely but he didn't like to think that something bad had happened to her.
He shouted for the others and they came running. As they reached Frodo they heard a loud scream from the Forest. It wasn't Ned's though. It was someone else but neither three could recognise it.
There was a rustling from the trees and Ned appeared dragging something behind her. It was a person, or something that vaguely resembled a person. They couldn't see exactly what it was but it did remind Bob of a scene from Independence Day. She could have laughed if she hadn't have been so concerned about what was being dragged along.
Ned strolled up to them as if nothing had happened.
"What is that?" Asked Bob sharply.
"Oh. I heard something out in the Forest and it woke me up. You guys were out of sight and I thought I would go and investigate. I found something that you might be interested in." She smiled.
"Wait a minute. You went into the Forest on your own without telling us? After what happened to Fred as well." Bob asked in disbelief.
"Like I said you were over by the fire. You looked like you were doing something important, I didn't want to disturb you. I felt a little better so I decided to go and investigate. I'm fine. Nothing happened."
At this she turned and walked to the body that was lying on the floor. Bob shook her head in disbelief. Sometimes she was convinced that Ned had no idea of what danger was. There were Wraiths all around them and she wanted to go into the Forest and investigate.
Despite her disbelief and anger she followed Ned towards the thing lying on the floor, she was very curious about what was following them.
She couldn't believe what she was seeing. There lying at her feet was Gollum. She had thought that it was him that was following them but she didn't think they anyone would be able to catch them. The two Hobbits looked equally surprised. Frodo had sort of expected Gollum to be there somewhere but he didn't think he was so close.
"Where did you find him?" Frodo asked Ned.
"Just in the woods. He was stalking you. He tried to run away but I managed to catch him and I thought I'd bring him back here. I though you'd be interested in knowing that he was following us."
"Did you have to knock him out?"
"Well, no but you know how much he struggles when you try and catch him. It was a shame I didn't have any Elf-rope he would have loved that." She smiled.
Bob nodded and laughed, remembering the movie. Frodo and Sam didn't understand. They hadn't met Gollum yet and they couldn't imagine why he was following them.
"I suggest we tie him up with something. You know how hard he can be to control."
Bob nodded and Frodo looked on not really understanding what was going on. He knew of Gollum but had never actually properly seen him, he remembered Gandalf telling him of the creature but he didn't go into detail and seeing the pitiful creature amazed Frodo. It was hard to believe that something could become so corrupted by something as small as a Ring.
Bob went to get some rope, she knew exactly what happened in The Two Towers and didn't want the same thing to happen again. Ned stared at the creature feeling a sudden wave of pity for him. She felt like she could relate to him, she knew what it was like for everyone to have an opinion of you and although she knew that Gollum was beyond saving she wished she could do something to help him.
Bob soon came back with the rope and she quickly tied Gollum up and tied the other end of the rope to a near-by tree. She didn't want to take any chances, she knew that Gollum was sly and clever in his own way. The last thing they needed was a fight with him. They had caught him once and they didn't want to lose him now.
**
A few hours passed before Gollum woke up, it was just beginning to get dark and they had begun cooking their meal. Bob figured that the smell must have woken him and she couldn't blame him. Over the past few days they hadn't had much time to stop and eat a proper meal. This was the first time in a while that they had had cooked food and they were pleased for the chance.
Gollum made a lot of fuss, he begged them to release him and Frodo, who felt bad for the creature, wanted to at least loosen the rope. Bob and Ned insisted that he stay tied up, they knew what he was capable of. Frodo took some food over him, he understood why Gollum felt drawn to the Ring and he felt sorry for Gollum who had been so corrupted by the thing that he was now carrying. Frodo thought that if he could help Gollum then maybe there would be chance for his quest.
He approached Gollum slowly; he treated him more like an animal than a being. He felt uneasy around him despite his pity. Frodo reached out his hand towards Gollum.
"It's okay. It's food." Frodo pushed the food towards him, reluctant to get any closer.
Gollum instantly snatched it from the Hobbit's and began to eat it but he soon spat it out on the floor and made a high-pitched squealing noise. Frodo could have sworn he had heard Gollum say "fish". He leaned forward to get closer to Gollum.
Just as he was about to get within Gollum's reach Ned approached them and interrupted them.
"I wouldn't get too close if I were you. He's untrustworthy. He'll kill you if it means getting his hands on the Ring."
Frodo pulled away from Gollum and the creature retreated away at being rejected.
"How do you know so much about him? Gandalf didn't tell me a whole lot about him and he certainly doesn't live in your world."
"Lets just say that I know more about him than you can imagine. He's dangerous and he knows it."
"Do you really think he'd steal the Ring?" Frodo questioned.
Ned knew that it was risky to tell Frodo too much about Gollum, he would find a lot out in the future. She figured that as long as she was careful about what she said it would be alright.
"He only wants the Ring. It's what he's been searching for all this time. He was imprisoned in a dungeon and it didn't stop him and he knows that you have the Ring and he wants what you now have. The only thing he cares about is the Ring. It's what he's always wanted. It's his obsession and he won't give up just because you're in a different place. He'd die for the Ring. And he'd also kill for it."
Frodo looked suspiciously at Gollum. He had never thought about Gollum being willing to kill for the Ring. He wondered if he would ever become that obsessed with it. He felt it all the time. He didn't know how he'd feel if he had to give it up.
"I'll see you later. I'm going to bed." Frodo said sharply. He didn't want anyone knowing his thoughts. Although he had a feeling that Ned knew more about him that she let on.
Ned kept looking at Gollum for some time, she had often imagined what he would look like and she was a little surprised that he was so insane. She felt sorry for Frodo. She was well aware of what he was thinking and she knew how hard it was to know what would eventually happen to him.
"Are you okay?" Bob approached.
"Yeah. Frodo was asking about Gollum." She replied.
"What did you tell him?"
"Not much."
"Not much?" Bob asked, suddenly worried.
"I just told him that he couldn't be trusted and that Gollum would kill him if he got the chance."
Bob cast a worried look.
"Don't panic. I didn't tell him anything about his future or anything like that. I just didn't want him dying or anything." Said Ned.
"Good. You know that it would be dangerous to change anything, even telling Frodo something that he shouldn't know yet could change everything in their world. Besides Frodo still has a long way to go yet and Gollum shouldn't come into it yet."
"I know. Don't worry, I won't tell him anything he shouldn't know. Frodo still has a long way to go and I wouldn't interfere with that. We have no way of knowing what damage it might cause to both their world and our film." She laughed.
Bob nodded and looked up at Ned with a surprised look on her face.
"What?" Said Ned defensively.
"Nothing. For a second there you sounded just like Fred." Bob smiled.
That smile soon faded when she remembered what happened.
"Don't worry. We're going to find her. You know Fred, she wouldn't give up. Especially seeing as The Return of the King is coming out soon."
Bob nodded knowing that Ned was right.